Prized recruit out of same high school as Carson Palmer and Klay Thompson finds the spotlight on The Farm

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Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello broke the school record for passing yards at Santa Margarita Catholic set by Carson Palmer, a Heisman Trophy and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft out of USC. (Don Feria/isiphotos.com)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello broke the school record for passing yards at Santa Margarita Catholic set by Carson Palmer, a Heisman Trophy and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft out of USC. (Jim Shorin/Stanford Athletics)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello (3) runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. Washington State won 24-21. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, left, hands the ball off to running back Bryce Love during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello (3) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, Stanford running back Bryce Love, right, celebrate his rushing touchdown with teammate K.J. Costello during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State in Stanford, Calif. Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love will be a game-time decision for No. 20 Stanford against Oregon State on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, right, throws over Arizona State linebacker Alani Latu (44) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, left, celebrates after throwing a touchdown to wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: K.J. Costello #3 of the Stanford Cardinal looks to pass the ball against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Stanford Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello (3) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against UCLA on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The 6-foot-5, 217-pound redshirt freshman stuck around for extra reps after being handed the keys to the offense last week, when he supplanted Keller Chryst as the starting quarterback at Stanford.

“The back-shoulder throws, second window times when it’s not open right away, it’s all just stuff that we feel out here,” Costello said.

“I don’t tell them to do this,” said quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, in his eighth season on staff. “That’s who they know they have to be day in and day out, and they give it to us.”

A prized recruit out of Santa Margarita Catholic, which also produced Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson and is located about 30 miles southeast of Disneyland, the nation’s second-best pro-style quarterback by Rivals broke his school’s record for passing yards previously held by 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer out of USC, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.

“I actually remember watching him a bunch back in the day, watching his tapes,” Costello said. “He’s definitely somebody that I just want to follow after.”

Rick Curtis, his coach at Santa Margarita as a junior and senior, ran a fairly complicated scheme that erased 19 school records — none of it possible without Costello’s commitment to learn the Xs and Os on the gridiron.

“The one thing about him is the blocking schemes and what’s supposed to happen as far as audibles, you’ll see him on the field making those calls,” Curtis said. “So he’s very knowledgeable about the game and he puts the work and the time into it, not just in film study but in the weight room.

“I know I talked to him earlier in the spring and summer and he was just saying, ‘Coach, I’ve got to get my body ready for this big season coming up.’ He stays focused on getting himself ready to perform. He’s always prepared, mentally and physically.”

USC and Michigan, with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, made a push to sign Costello. Instead, he opted to step foot on The Farm.

“It was as you can imagine a heated process because he was coveted by a lot of people,” Shaw said.

“I made a decision that would affect my lifestyle as a whole,” said Costello, who grew up on a golf course and played baseball and basketball until after his freshman year . “Naturally, here I’m more focused all the time, whether I’m in the classroom for school or in the classroom for football.”

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A year ago, Costello spent his time on the sideline as a spectator. He felt “humbled” while “focusing every day on just point blank getting better.”

It’s just the way things are at Stanford. It’s how Andrew Luck was groomed, forced to sit out a year while watching Pritchard run the offense in 2008.

“There’s a lot of volume with what we do, and so much is drinking out of a fire hose early on,” Pritchard said. “It was just really laying that foundation that first year, and this year you’ve seen him be able to operate and control our offense.”

“We put a lot on our quarterbacks and he’s still a young quarterback,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “He’s got a lot to learn, he’s still growing and we want him to be efficient, get the ball out of his hands on time, give guys chances to make plays.”

The early results are promising.

He came off the bench against UCLA after an injury knocked out Chryst to spark a 58-34 rout in which he threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another.

“When he gets into the white lines, the guy is very intense, as you can probably see,” Curtis said. “He’s very emotional about playing the game, so he’s very passionate.”

The next week against Arizona State, in his first career start, Costello threw another TD in a 34-24 victory as running back Bryce Love stole the show with a school-record 307 rushing yards.

“He’s had some unbelievable moments in his short time playing this year,” Shaw said. “And I think when he gets comfortable and gets into a rhythm, he’s the kind of guy that fits perfectly in what we do.”

“Behind-the-scenes wise, our preparation has not changed,” Costello said. “That’s what’s crazy. We prepare extremely hard every week, it’s just really making sure that when it’s time to execute, we execute.”

Things didn’t go as planned on Saturday at Washington State in a 24-21 loss in which Stanford failed to crack 200 yards of offense.

Costello finished 9-of-20 for 105 yards with an interception. His only touchdown was a 14-yard scramble midway through the third quarter.

Even in the loss, there were positive signs.

“The thing he did great on Saturday, which we really asked of him and challenged him with, was managing the line of scrimmage in a hostile environment with elements,” Pritchard said. “He got us into the right play.”

“As a whole, I always try to be my hardest critic,” said Costello, who agreed with Pritchard’s assessment. “But we’ve definitely got to get better as far as feeling each other on the perimeter, when we’re in tight windows, when we need to make plays.”

That’s why he refused to walk away from the practice field on Monday night.

“He’ll take a loss like last week and he’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s on me, I’ve got to get better. What can we do as a team to get better?’ ” Curtis said. “He’s just always looking forward, not looking in the rear-view mirror.”

It doesn’t get any easier this week.

No. 9 Washington (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) rolls into town Friday for a showdown against Stanford (6-3, 5-2), which has no room for error if it hopes to play in the Pac-12 championship game at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 1.

“They’re tough, they’re physical, they play big up front,” Costello said of the Huskies, who lead the nation in total defense (240.9 ypg) and rank second in scoring defense (11.1 ppg),. “I think it’s going to be a battle of the trenches once again, like we say going into every week. But then from there it’s going to be mano y mano on the perimeter. They trust their guys on the perimeter and I trust my guys, so at the end of the day it’s going to be another one of those games where we gotta make plays.”

Vytas Mazeika is a sports reporter at The Daily News based out of Menlo Park. He covers athletics at every level, from high school to Stanford to the pros. He also designs the sports pages and copy edits for The Daily News print edition. Mazeika graduated from Carlmont High in 1994 and earned an English bachelor's degree from UCLA.

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